


April Fool's Day

by Evieebun125



Series: The Sheridan Tapes [1]
Category: The Sheridan Tapes
Genre: Gen, Grieving, Light Angst, gift receiving, minor hurt/comfort, no beta we die like sam bailey, past Sam bailey/Allen Gott
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:55:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27285271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evieebun125/pseuds/Evieebun125
Summary: Sam's just been assigned Sheridan's case, agitated he goes back to his office to find a package waiting for him.
Relationships: Sam Bailey & Bill Tyler
Series: The Sheridan Tapes [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1997779
Comments: 3
Kudos: 4





	April Fool's Day

Sam was not a patient man; he never had been. He wants to know things as fast as possible, he digs at a problem, an idea until he knows everything he needs to.

Which in his line of work is a good thing, well most of the time. Allen had handled the human side of things most of the time, Sam was far too impatient, too insensitive. 

Nowadays he didn’t have to worry about the human side of his job, it’s a bitter thought twisting in his mind. He uses it as a distraction, something to avoid the mysterious package on his desk and the sour task he has been given. 

Sam doesn't stay away for long.

The box is smaller than a normal evidence box, he hadn’t had the chance to grab Sheridan's tapes yet, but he was sure they were more than could fit into such a small package.

He sits heavy on his desk chair and rolls the thought around in his head before he scowls. His calendar reveals a more likely answer.

It's April first and he can’t help the groan that leaves him. He was new, he had been through this before, it had to be a prank.

"Fuck April fool’s day." He mumbles it with little heat. It was a day he didn’t think much of for most of his life.

Sure, he got pranked in school, usually never realizing it until long after the joke had passed that it was in fact a joke. It often left him burning with embarrassment over the whole situation. 

He hated it until.

Until Agate Shore.

Sam shakes the thoughts away violently. His eyes already burning, tears welling in his eyes threatening to fall. He's determined to blink them away, no one knew, they had no idea what April fools meant to him. 

It was just a prank, a fun joke to pull on the new guy, he’s sure of it. His hands shake more than they should, he cuts the tape away hard enough to puncture the cardboard before he pauses.

Steels himself for whatever weird shit they've planned for him and he opens the box.

His breath comes out in a rush, there’s no toys popping out at him or loud pops, no it's... It’s a mug. 

He hesitates for a moment before gingerly taking it out of the box, the bubble wrap is easy to tear away. He expects a crude joke or a hidden insult on the bottom but nothing of the sort exists.

It’s...just a mug.

A cute cartoon version of a pug. Light brown with dark floppy ceramic ears. He's shaking so much he’s afraid he'll drop it, he manages to put it down gently, tears obscuring his vision.

It takes an embarrassing amount of time for him to pull himself together. There isn't a tag on the box, no note or card left but he has an idea of who left it. He can’t help the small smile that tugs at his lips. 

He doesn't use it in the office, he’s not afraid of being judged.

No, no he’s not embarrassed, just… Just afraid of walking to the coffee pot and turning around, afraid of the grin that he would catch. If Bill saw him use his gift his face would break out into a smile so bright that he knew it would twist and worm its way into him and he couldn't.

He just couldn't not now, maybe not ever.

But... It didn’t stop him from using it every morning and every bad night.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are deeply appreciated, Though due to anxiety i rarely respond, but please know any comments you write stay on my dashboard so I may read them and get happy feelings when i'm feeling bad about my writing <333


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